inch: [OE] Inch and ounce both mean etymologically ‘one twelfth’, but while this ancestral sense has largely been lost sight of in the case of ounce, for inch it remains in force. The words’ common ancestor is Latin uncia, a term for a ‘twelfth part’ derived from unus ‘one’. This was borrowed into prehistoric Germanic as *ungkja, but it has not survived in any other Germanic language but English. => one, ounce
inch (n.1)
"linear measure, one-twelfth of a foot," late Old English ynce, Middle English unche (current spelling c. 1300), from Latin uncia "a twelfth part," from root of unus "one" (see one). An early borrowing from Latin, not found in any other Germanic language. Transferred and figurative sense of "a very small amount" is attested from mid-14c. For phrase give him an inch ... see ell.
inch (n.2)
"small Scottish island," early 15c., from Gaelic innis (genitive innse) "island, land by a river," from Celtic *inissi (cognates: Old Irish inis, Welsh ynys, Breton enez).
inch (v.)
"move little by little," 1590s, from inch (n.1). Related: Inched; inching.
雙語例句
1. We are prepared to fight for every inch of territory.
我們時刻準備著為每一寸領土而戰。
來自柯林斯例句
2. His life was saved by a quarter-inch-thick bullet-proof steel screen.
多虧一塊1/4英寸厚的防彈鋼板，他才撿了條命。
來自柯林斯例句
3. The bullet had passed less than an inch from Andrea's heart.
子彈在離安德烈亞的心臟不到一英寸的地方穿過。
來自柯林斯例句
4. Every inch of his arms and legs was ulcerated.
他四肢全都潰爛了。
來自柯林斯例句
5. Make a slit in the stem about half an inch long.